[espadrille]

There is much research that goes on in to autism at specialist Universities such as Sheffield Hallam University and Cambridge and others.
I agree that this needs to be done, but I wonder how it is decided to fund this research and where the money comes from.
I have spoken to many people who have Asperger Syndrome and they would like to see money spent on support and advice and getting better front line services.People with autism dont always look for a cure but for a way to make their lives more bearable.

[duckweed]

It isn't a case of finding a cure surely. Research needs to be done as to what is the most effective help as well as finding if there is a way of preventing it happening or what kind of early intervention might help. I know how frustrating lack of funding is but taking it away from research wouldn't be helpful either. It isn't that long ago that parents were blamed for creating autistic children. Thankfully research proved that wasn't so.

[espadrille]

But much of the research that is done is looking at what effects autism such as rainwater???
We all know that autism is passed on from the genes of parents.You only have to look at your own children and look at your own parents.Much of the research that is done confirms this.
I am taking part in an eye tracking study at Nottingham University which I am assuming it is looking in to how we see facial expressions.
This is interesting stuff but there is a real desperate need to get good support in place on the front line services for people on the spectrum.

[duckweed]

I agree but that is the problem of funding in social services education etc.. Planning is seen year by year and never the big picture. Assistance only seems to come when the carer or person with the disability is at crisis point be it Aspergers or Alzheimers. A small but regular sum would often save money in the long term. Instead its stop go all the time. Seems to be as soon as something works is when they cut funding. I imagine some of the research you are talking about is more about how the brain works than helping helping autism. But not all research is like that.

[amyamymay]

I think it just needs to be a bit more balanced. I think research is important-both in developing an understanding of the condition ie.i want to know if i could pass it on to my kids and about the kind of support that people already with asd need.
At the moment its ridiculous, it seems nigh on impossible to get any support from social services, people are passed forward and backward between ld and mh services, and quite often as duckweed points out most often people just need a little bit of regular support rather than a massive package. Instead we wait for a crisis and in the meantime people are often isolated, miserable and have no quality of life.

[espadrille]

The autism bill will hopefully change all of that.

You may be interested in coming along to my conference at The Showroon on the 5th October.
It is to be called

'Aspire to Inspire'.
More details to follow...

I will be running workshops and I am hoping to run one for parents of kids with AS.